Saturday, December 26, 2009

The Day After!


We spent a very quiet Christmas Day, it did seem very strange sitting down to lunch without Beccy and the family. I had a text from Sam so I know she arrived safely in Fiji.

Now I have a new problem to concentrate on. For the past week I have been storing my vegetable down in my cellar which is fairly cool. I went down to get some today and noticed that the top of a cauliflower, the bottom of a parsnip and an aubergine had been nibbled. I can only think that a rat has somehow managed to get into the cellar.
I've removed everything, but now I'm worried it will creep into the house. I won't be able to get the rodent officer to call until after the holidays. It makes me feel very uncomfortable just thinking about it. I wonder if leaving the lights on would act as a deterrent! I must go and see if google can help me!



Archives:
2008: Sharing some Christmas Day Photos
2007: Boxing Day
2006: Boxing Day Traditions

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Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas Greetings to Family and Friends Across the World


I just want to wish everyone a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas. May your homes be filled with joy and laughter and I hope Father Christmas made it down all the chimneys!!
with love from
Chris and Embee xx
Archives:
2008: Christmas Greetings
2007: Christmas Day
2006: Happy Christmas

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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Eve I Spy


Like everyone else I had a very busy day doing bits of last minute shopping and getting the house ready for the big day. It was a lot warmer here today and most of the snow has melted, although there was still a lot of ice on some of the pavements. As we drove up a road called Backboy Hill I noticed a huge dog sitting in the back of a tiny car.
The poor thing was surrounded by luggage and parcels. You might have to look hard to see the dog because every time we got close it turned it's head away. I felt rather sorry for it and hoped that the driver of the car was close to her destination.


Today Sam is travelling to Fiji for her Christmas break and I hope she has a wonderful time. I was able to have a little chat to her as we won't be able to speak tomorrow.

Better get back to wrapping a few more presents.


Archives:
2008: Let Fun Begin
2007: Christmas Eve Police Spy
2006: Christmas Eve One day to go

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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Witty Wednesday # 122 + Surprise Surprise My Secret Revealed!!!!


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As it's almost Christmas I thought I'd share the Health and Safety guide to 'Festive Songs sent to me by Daffy

HSE Guidance - the singing of 'Festive Songs'

The Rocking Song

Little Jesus, sweetly sleep, do not stir;
We will lend a coat of fur,
We will rock you, rock you, rock you,
We will rock you, rock you, rock you:

Fur is no longer appropriate wear for small infants, both due to risk of allergy to animal fur, and for ethical reasons. Therefore faux fur, a nice cellular blanket or perhaps micro-fleece material should be considered a suitable alternative.
Please note: only persons who have been subject to a Criminal Records Bureau check and have enhanced clearance will be permitted to rock baby Jesus.
Persons must carry their CRB disclosure with them at all times and be prepared to provide three forms of identification before rocking commences.

Jingle Bells

Dashing through the snow -
In a one horse open sleigh,
O'er the fields we go -
Laughing all the way

A risk assessment must be submitted before an open sleigh is considered Safe for members of the public to travel on. The risk assessment must also consider whether it is appropriate to use only one horse for such a venture, particularly if passengers are of larger proportions. Please note, permission must be gained from landowners before entering their fields.
To avoid offending those not participating in celebrations, we would request that laughter is moderate only and not loud enough to be considered a noise nuisance.

While Shepherds Watched

While shepherds watched
Their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground
The angel of the Lord came down
And glory shone around ...

The union of Shepherd's has complained that it breaches Health and Safety Regulations to insist that shepherds watch their flocks without appropriate seating arrangements being provided, therefore benches, stools and orthopaedic chairs are now available. Shepherds have also requested that due to the inclement weather conditions at this time of year that they should watch their flocks via CCTV cameras from centrally heated shepherd observation huts.
Please note, the angel of the lord is reminded that before shining his /her glory all around she / he must ascertain that all shepherds have been issued with glasses capable of filtering out the harmful effects of UVA, UVB and Glory.
Rudolph the red nosed reindeer

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
had a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw him,
you would even say it glows ...

You are advised that under the Equal Opportunities for All policy, it is inappropriate for persons to make comment with regard to the ruddiness of any part of Mr. R. Reindeer. Further to this, exclusion of Mr R Reindeer from the Reindeer Games will be considered discriminatory and disciplinary action will be taken against those found guilty of this offence. A full investigation will be implemented and sanctions - including suspension on full pay - will be considered whilst this investigation takes place.
Little Donkey

Little donkey, little donkey on the dusty road;
Got to keep on plodding onwards with your precious load ...

The RSPCA have issued strict guidelines with regard to how heavy a load that a donkey of small stature is permitted to carry, also included in the guidelines is guidance regarding how often to feed the donkey and how many rest breaks are required over a four hour plodding period. Please note that due to the increased risk of pollution from the dusty road, Mary and Joseph are required to wear face masks to prevent inhalation of any airborne particles. The donkey has expressed his discomfort at being labelled 'little' and would prefer just to be simply referred to as Mr. Donkey. To comment upon his height or lack thereof may be considered an
infringement of his equine rights.

We Three Kings

We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar -
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star ...

Whilst the gift of gold is still considered acceptable - as it may be redeemed at a later date through such organisations as 'cash for gold' etc, gifts of frankincense and myrrh are not appropriate due to the potential risk of oils and fragrances causing allergic reactions. A suggested gift alternative would be to make a donation to a worthy cause in the recipients name or perhaps give a gift voucher. We would not advise that the traversing kings rely on navigation by stars in order to reach their destinations and suggest the use of RAC routefinder or satellite navigation, which will provide the quickest route and advice regarding fuel consumption. Please note as per the guidelines from the RSPCA for Mr Donkey, the camels carrying the three kings of Orient will Require regular food and rest breaks. Facemasks for the three kings are also advisable due to the likelihood of dust from the camels hooves.

*********************************


You might remember this post. All your guesses made me laugh not quite sure where all the pregnancy ideas came from !!!!!

WELL ALL CAN NOW BE REVEALED


I was a bit sad to see this little car go it has served me well for nearly 13 years but the government have been putting money into a replacement scheme for cars over 10 years of age. The VAT tax has been reduced by 2.5% and is going back up in the new year so I felt that I had to take advantage of a pretty good deal. Oh and my annual Road Tax will drop to £35, I will get better mileage per gallon and no MOT testing for 3 years; so a bit more saving there. I know this is nowhere near the cost of the car but having adjustable front seats and extra doors will make it easier for my mother and any other passengers.

There are a few features that I will miss such as foot rest and boot opener from inside the car, but I can live with this.

I did not have a lot of choice on colour, I didn't want silver and I didn't like the grey so that left me with Black, I wonder how many times I will go around the car park looking for my old car!!!!


Archives:
2008: Waiting for Christmas
2007: Countdown Panic
2006: Two Days and Counting

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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Some more snow photos

My daughter Sam wanted to see some more snow photos. I don't think this is what she really means but I took a few more around the house.


I thought these looked just like crowns.

It might not look very deep but it had drifted against the gate.

The blueberry plants look very forlorn!

An early morning shot of the front garden while it was still dark.

I won't be using the washing line for a while!

Nor do I think we'll be sitting out any time soon!

It took me ages to clear a path to the gate but I'm glad I made the effort as I was able to drive my car today. I'm less pleased about the huge raw area on the palm of my right hand where a blister burst!

Archives:
2008: Look at My Belly Flops
2007: Winter Solstice
2006: Last Celebration Meal

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Monday, December 21, 2009

Fun Monday # 148 What's in the Christmas mail!



I'm late, I'm late for a very important date! The snow we had last night had to be cleared and it took me about three hours and I now have backache so I'm glad to be sitting down and taking a rest. Oh and today is the Winter Solstice so it's the shortest and darkest day of the year. Roll on the lighter evenings not that we'll notice it for a couple of months!

Right down to FM.
Today Faye is our hostess and she says:
Your assignment, should you decide to play, is to share some of your favorite holiday mail that you've received this year. Possible categories:

Best All Around Card
Most Meaningful Message
Best Kid/Pet Holiday Photo
Best Family Newsletter
Most Humorous Card

As it's Christmas this is what I'm going to concentrate on...
For the best kid picture I've chosen this one of my youngest grandson. I pinched it from Beccy who posted it on facebook and I thought it would make a perfect Christmas Greeting. I just love the expression on his face!

Although I get news letters from friends I don't get any family newsletters; however, I do get some hand made cards which I love...

Ben made me smile...look what he has written in his card....now when I was staying with them last month he actually told me he wanted to stay in Dublin for Christmas and he's got his wish as his dad has some work commitments and they can't come until 28th. I think this might count as a meaningful message!

The other card I'm going to show came from my blogging buddy Daffy I love her blog and she supplies me with a lot of my material for my Witty Wednesday posts (not that I can share everything she sends ;))

I was thrilled to get this card so thank you very much Daffy.

Well that's all I can come up with today. I'll come visiting soon.

Archives:
2008: Winter Solstice
2007: Christmas Greetings
2006: Winter Solstice

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Sunday, December 20, 2009

It's snowing

I saw on Facebook that less than an hour ago my niece's daughter had commented that it was snowing. She lives less than 2 miles from me so when I looked out of the window this is what I saw. So instead of going to bed I had to try taking a couple of photos.


Not very good but hopefully I'll get more tomorrow in daylight.


Archives:
2008: Music for Granny
2007: Hand Art
2006: Menu for Hope -3

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Saturday, December 19, 2009

Not exactly Turtle Doves



Saw these two sitting in the morning sun.

Archives:
2008: Forlorn Friday
2007: Witty Wednesday-30
2006: I'm losing the plot

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Thursday, December 17, 2009

My brother's new home

On Monday I took my mother to see my brother's new bungalow, my sister-in-law is brilliant, she has already started decorating one of the bedrooms and they were very well organised considering they haven't been there very long. My brother has started to cut back some of the trees and he has plans for the terraced garden, come the spring.



Archives:
2008: Witty Wednesday-77
2007: Fun Monday-46 + Menu for Hope 4th Year
2006: Catching Up

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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Witty Wednesday # 121 Maxine Cartoons




A few more Maxine cartoons from Daffy


Ha ha I can relate to these!!!!!


Archives:
2007: Evening to Remember
2007: Silent Sunday
2007: None

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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Clumsy me!

I had a little mishap this week and broke the lid of the egg container. I've had this for about 22 years so I'm rather sad.

Now I'm wondering what sort of replacement to get. I think I might need to wait until the January sales!

Archives:
2008: Fun Monday-95 Random Acts of Kindness
2007: Cool Award
2006: None

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Can you guess my secret???

I've got a secret that will be revealed within the next couple of weeks. I'm not giving away any prizes but have a guess!


Archives:
2007: Saturday Squirrels
2007: Ubuntu in Napa
2007: Celebration

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Saturday, December 12, 2009

What Happened to ' Rocky'.


Does anyone remember this post. Probably not as it was written back in 2008! The last picture I showed you was of Rocky and it was sponsored by Hydrock the company Embee has worked for during the past 13 years. Sadly, or not, depending how you view it, this pig along with a few others did not reach the reserve price when they were being auctioned for charity. So for the past year it has been sitting in one of the buildings on the work site. OK it's not one of the prettiest pigs but it's quite interesting and kind of cute, dressed in his miner safety helmet and with a Bath Stone Building on his back. The significance of this is the reason the company were working in the area

Back in 2007 we were taken down into the mines and this was the picture taken at the time. So guys you have been where no one else will ever walk again. The bats will be the only creatures to frequent the mines. All the tunnels are now filled with concrete making it safe for all the buildings above.

I was concerned that with everything closing down the pig would somehow vanish along the way when the site was being cleared and I wondered how much the boss would accept for us to buy the pig and give him a good home. I sort of knew it might be beyond our pocket especially as Embee was finally retiring. Anyway on Friday what arrived home in the back of his car...yes you're right the pig! The boss had very kindly given it to Embee.
Thank you very much Brian, we appreciate the gift and, as I'm sure you are aware, Embee has been very happy working for you and he's delighted to have been able to see the project successfully completed.

As for the pig at the moment it's living in the cellar but I'm hoping that my eldest grandson might use his artistic talent to add a little more decoration. If he does I'll let you know.

Archives:
2008: Three Ladies who Lunched
2007: Witty Wednesday-29
2006: Anxiety

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Friday, December 11, 2009

Made with love!


Sam made her granny a necklace for her birthday and it arrived yesterday.

These photos don't do it justice. It's a very pretty little pink heart with a chain of little silver, pink, blue and gold beads with a magnetic clasp to make it easier for my mother to secure.

Archives:
2008: Secret Ornament Swap
2007: My secret ornament surprise
2006: Well done Sainsburys

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Thursday, December 10, 2009

A December Sky 2009

As I went outside to put the recycling for collection on Tuesday morning at around 7am the sky was looking very pretty. I rushed back inside to get the camera, and hoped the neighbours wouldn't think I was mad if they saw me outside in my PJ's on a cold December morning.

It didn't last within an hour the sky was cloudy and we had some rain!


Archives:
2008: Witty Wednesday-76
2007: Fun Monday-45
2006: Lunch a la barbara (winosandfoodies)

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Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Witty Wednesday # 120


I purloined these from Peter

It's Raining, It's Pouring
Oh sh!t, it's Global Warming.
Jack and Jill went into town
To fetch some chips and sweeties.
He can't keep his heart rate down
And she's got diabetes.

Mary had a little lamb
Her father shot it dead.
Now it goes to school with her
Between two chunks of bread.

Mary had a little lamb
It ran into a pylon.
10,000 volts went up its @rse
And turned its wool to nylon.
**************************

Thanks to Daffy for Maxine

Archives:
2008: Fun Christmas Meme
2007: I'm not singing in the rain
2006: Mijas

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Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Another Happy Birthday


Today my mother celebrates her 86th Birthday, she had a lovely lot of gifts to open and I was trying to get a picture of the pretty hair slide that Beccy sent. As you can see I didn't do a very good job! Beccy it was a perfect colour match for what she was wearing today.

Archives:
2008: Happy Birthday to my Mother on Fun Monday-94
2007: My Mother is Celebrating her Birthday
2006: Birthday Girl

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Monday, December 07, 2009

Fun Monday # 146 Worst Christmas Songs



This week Cynicalgirl has set us this task as she asks:

What Christmas (or other holiday) song would you prefer never to hear again, and why? It could be one song in particular, or songs by a certain singer, or a version of a song you usually enjoy that grates on your nerves.

The first and probably only song that came to my mind is Madonna's 'Santa Baby'


Sorry if you like this one but it's a big NO NO from me!

Archives:
2008: Visitors on Two Wheels
2007: What's Not Fare!!
2006: Ronda

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Sunday, December 06, 2009

Christmas Ornament Swap 2009

I have been very remiss in getting this post up. The main reason being that I"m trying to shake off a nasty virus and have not been well for almost a week now. Emma a blogging buddy organised a Christmas Ornament swap and I eagerly joined in as I've enjoyed adding new ornaments to my tree in similar swaps for the past couple of years.
When I returned from visiting my daughter and the grandchildren I had a card from the Royal Mail to go and pick up a package and I guessed it might be my ornament.
Imagine my delight when I found this lovely little snowman ornament in my package.


I also had a lovely letter from Jennifer, who is actually a friend of Emma's in Edmonton in Canada. Jennifer said that she had chosen the ornament in a store in Newfoundland and although she had no idea of my colour scheme, she made a perfect choice because many of my ornaments are red and gold.
I don't put my tree up until much closer to Christmas so I took the ornament into my back yard and hung it on the Bay tree to get this picture.

A big thank you to Jennifer for her lovely gift and letter; and I also want to thank Emma for organising the exchange as it's such fun to get a surprise in the post and I now have another memory on the tree.

Archives:
2008: Sending Hugs Across the World
2007: Memories of my first thanksgiving
2006: Gibraltar (The Rock)

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Monday, November 30, 2009

Fun Monday # 145 The season for giving


This week Sayre asks:


How will you express your inner-Giver this season? Do you donate to a major charity? Do you serve food in a soup kitchen? Is your generosity something private that you do without recognition or do you hand the guy on the corner a dollar whenever you drive by?
Not only do I want to know what you do, but how you do it, why you do it, and a story about your activity and how it made you feel.

I have always thought that charitable acts are not really something I would talk about. Then I realised that I have blogged about 'Race for Life" which I participated in for the past three years year. This is to fund raise for cancer research.

For a couple of years now I have been supporting 'Operation Christmas Child' which is an initiative of Samaritan's Purse. It's all about packing shoe boxes with gifts for a child. I collect items all the year round, it's very easy to go down the aisles in the supermarket and pop something into the trolley each week. It's amazing how quickly you gather up the small toys and craft items. For example, soft toys, crayons, paper, pencil cases, that will make a child happy; as well as much needed things like toiletries. It's often more difficult to get the actual shoe boxes! I probably get as much fun collecting things as the children do opening their presents.

Every Christmas we give a couple of sort toys to a charity Embee supports providing gifts for children who, with their mothers, are in refuges after suffering domestic violence.

I have a small box that I use to collect coppers and when it's full I send it off to the Life Boat Association. It's not much in monetary terms but every little helps.

I always sponsor my three grandchildren when they are raising funds for different charities.

Then I tend to give to all the local collections often outside the supermarket or the ones that come knocking at the door. Having been a volunteer collector in the past I know it's not an easy task.

I'm very late getting this post published, even though I started it on Monday, so as I'm not on the FM list I realise none of the regulars are likely to read it. I'll try and do better next week!

Archives:
2008: Corfu-6 Vidos Island Part 1
2007: Twin Peaks at Sunset
2006: None

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Sunday, November 29, 2009

Now we are nine!


Just thought I would share my grandson playing with the present he had from his parents. Sam listen carefully to what he says!


Archives:
2008: Marmite is Spreading
2007: Homeward Bound
2006: None

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Thursday, November 26, 2009

A Birthday Boy

Now I wonder who this is trying on some winter warmers!

You probably guessed that it's my youngest grandson and today he's celebrating his 9th Birthday.

He is always very reluctant to let me take a photo, but yesterday evening his mother had to attend a meeting and I was left in charge at home. So after a bath and hair wash, which he does himself, I managed to snap this picture just before he got into bed. For once he went straight to sleep, instead of finding reasons to come back downstairs. He thought today would come more quickly if he went to sleep early!

Happy Birthday Ben
I hope that you are going to enjoy your special day
Lots of Love Grandma xxx

I would also like to wish all my blogging friends a very Happy Thanksgiving
and
I also hope Sam and Fred enjoy their weekend in Las Vagas.

Archives:
2008: Now we are eight
2007: Birthday Boy Ben
2006: Happy Birthday Ben

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